- Vishwajit Sawant
WPL League Stage, WPL 2023: The inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 season has come to a conclusion. Three of the five participating teams can qualify directly to the final on a thrilling last day of the league.
The top two teams in the WPL 2023 points standings are MI and DC, with the UP Warriorz coming in third. According to the WPL 2023 structure, the team that finishes first in the league standings will qualify for the final.
The fourth and fifth-placed teams in the league standings, RCB and GG can no longer qualify for the playoffs. Hence, the struggle will be between the top three to reach the final directly.
Harmanpreet Kaur‘s Mumbai Indians will face Smriti Mandhana’s RCB, while Alyssa Healy‘s Warriorz will face Meg Lanning‘s Delhi Capitals.
The Gujarat Giants‘ team composition got disrupted by the loss of key players at the beginning of the league. “shuffling the deck wasn’t simple,” team mentor Mithali Raj and head coach Rachel Haynes stated after the team’s elimination.
Australia opener and designated captain Beth Mooney missed the whole WPL after suffering a calf injury on the first day of the inaugural competition, giving a significant blow to her team’s ambitions.
Gujarat Giants face elimination after losing their final match on Monday to UP Warriorz. “This was undoubtedly a thrilling and rewarding experience for me,” Haynes remarked of her first tenure as a head coach.
Gujrat Giants put up a challenging total of 178 in front of UP Warriorz. Gujrat’s half-centuries came from Hemlatha and Gardner. Nonetheless, UP Warriorz won the game thanks to Grace Harris’ stunning 72-run knock (41).
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The Women’s Premier League‘s debut season has reached a climax stage as three teams confirm their playoff positions. Two teams face elimination from the tournament, RCB, and GG.
The WPL 2023 Playoffs will consist of two matches: an Eliminator and a Final. The top team after the round-robin stage advances to the final. The finals will take place on Sunday (March 26) at Brabourne Stadium.
Meanwhile, the second and third-placed teams will compete in the Eliminator on Friday (March 24) to secure their places in the summit clash.
The WPL calendar reveals that there is a day’s gap between the eliminator and the final, therefore a reserve day could be used if necessary. There is currently no information on a reserve day for the WPL 2023 playoffs.
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